Experience 90s gaming in a new way - NEO GEO X

For many of us the Neo Geo was untouchable at home, the closest we got to it was maybe in the arcades where we played the fast and furious array of games on a Neo Geo Arcade cabinet. Perhaps someone’s older, richer brother had a AES – but they then maybe sold it on for it was an investment as much as a video games console. 

The choice of a Neo Geo meant having a big wallet and dedication to seek out the carts if that was your thing. Many of us (GamesYouLoved included) stuck with the other 16-Bit consoles and were contented and actually very happy with the technology and gaming experience they brought to us at home. However – something niggled and chewed away at us.

If only we could afford a Neo Geo – just those words SNK Playmore brought a dream-like state over us. We even got the sales guys to demo the Neo Geo AES in the dedicated electronic stores in Tottenham Court Road in the 90s. However the money was tight so it was a Japanese (Asian) Mega Drive for us though – and that was pricey enough. Its worth noting the American launch version went for $649 back in 1990! The platform style didn’t give way to 3D graphics of the mid 90s either, and it held its own for many years with games even after the console itself ceased production in 97.

So what’s changed?

Well SNK has - and with the help of www.funstock.co.uk on the distribution and support side, they have brought a new wave of Neo Geo gaming to us now. This is in the form of the new Neo Geo X console. Or should we say a pocket rocket of handheld power that is the Neo Geo X – at home, at work or holiday or anywhere you want to take - it has it all. We have seen the odd video or blog about ‘its not the same as the original’ or the picture and sound doesn’t hold up and the quality isn’t good. Well – we say ‘rubbish to that’ Plus also if you have an extensive and expensive Neo Geo collection perhaps you might want to knock this product as its affecting your investment!!

And in fact not all original Neo Geo owners agree with this anyway. One of our facebook viewers Adrian Thompson owns an original AES console, dedicated cab MVS (Jamma) and a new Neo Geo X. Talking to him about why all 3 and why add the Neo Geo X to his already extensive collection - its’ all about an added dimension..something exciting, new and innovation which is what gaming is all about.

Under the hood...

The technology is all there but it's the experience we care about and we have put it to the test. At home you gotta have 2 controllers (second controller sold separately) for the multiplayer action of Metal Slug, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury and the amazingly fun and entertaining play of Super Sidekicks.

With a HDMI cable from the main console unit (via the handheld) the picture is pin sharp with 1080p upscaling and sounds as clear as anything. We even connected it to a Marshall amp for the output on Metal Slug – the thing was war-like!

Out and about with the Neo Geo X...

Away from home play this is where the Neo Geo X comes into its own. Not only can you take it (with over 5 hours gaming time of one charge) on the train, bus, coffee shop or to a family event where you need some ‘gaming me time!’

It also acts a handheld console that plays directly into the HDMI connection into a TV. This was particularly cool when we have been on a road trip to some events where an overnight stay means the usual TV channels and no much else on. Our delight was hooking this up to the 50" TV in the room and playing hardcore Neo Geo games like Samurai Showdown and Fatal Fury before a gaming event. What else could you ask for..

 Not muchn more, and the price – a fraction on the original is a must.

 To buy: http://www.funstock.co.uk/neogeo-x-with-mega-pack Get £10 off using the code GYL10

Silicon Dreams - A Retrospective

Where would we be without electronics?  Using Electrical circuitry to solve problems for a variety of requirements by means of semiconductor components to control electrons, it’s such common thing that it’s mostly taken for granted, and rarely is it celebrated.

In July, GamesYouLoved were lucky enough to be invited along to the Silicon Dreams in the heart of Leicestershire, to celebrate, remember and learn about the age of electronics and hopefully understand its future. A month after the event, after all the computers, components and gadgets have been packed away or taken back to the museums from whence they came, and the dust once again settles on the diodes, we take a retrospective look at the event and what made it tick.


The event was held at Snibston Discovery Museum in Ashby, in the heart of Leicestershire.  The purpose of the event, as the name suggests; to celebrate the ‘age of the silicon chip’, and the evolution of electronic entertainment. It featured an extensive list of exhibitors; from from collectors and completionists to originators and tech-geeks, all keen to share their knowledge and let punters ask questions and interact with their exhibits. The weekend was packed with a variety of activities and talks from key speakers of the computing world. The exhibitor list read like a who’s who in British computing, featuring not one but two of UK’s computing museums; the Centre for Computing History, and Retro Computer Museum, featured talks and input from some of the scene’s most respected minds and even included entertainment from 80’s electro popsters Heaven 17. This was right up GamesYouLoved’s street.

The location couldn’t be more apt, with the event spread nicely throughout the technology museum, which itself hosts a range of science and industry exhibits. GamesYouLoved attended the event on an unusually scorching Saturday, but despite the Barbeque weather the place was a hive of activity with people of all ages enthusiastically exploring and interacting. Exhibits provided an extensive history of computing, showcasing pretty much every computer and console one could remember and many you probably wouldn’t. From the education based Commodore PET 201 (Personal Electronic Transactor) and BBC micros to countless consoles and game systems. Bits of nostalgia were dotted everywhere whisking you back to a day when electronic entertainment was still fresh and exciting, from classic synths, the first games systems (Binatone TV Master) to Betamax top-loading video players.

GamesYouLoved asked Simon Hewitt (Event Organiser) where it all started:

“The clientele that came to vintage computer festival 2 years ago, wanted a similar or follow-up event that celebrated old computers and the legacy of the silicon chip rather than just gaming. We wanted to achieve all of that and make it appeal to a family audience also.”

The next event did just that, by bringing together various factions of the computing community and guest speakers, to demonstrate what their remit was all about and share their passion to potential new audiences. "It doesn't stop there - we'll also have film-related entertainment, arts activities and - of course - electronic music.”, the website promotes.

Simon had worked hard to bring it all together, and the smooth running of the event was down to Simon and his crew’s hard work and determination.

“It’s all really exciting..” Simon enthuses, “..We’ve got a talk from Martin Ware of Heaven 17, one of the godfathers of British electronic music. We’re following this up with a live performance by a band called Northern Kind- a newer synth duo along the same lines, and rounding things off with a performance by Heaven 17. It’s a way to wind down and relax after overseeing things throughout the day as well as adding a bit of a ‘rock and roll’ element. It’s also in keeping with the retro theme of the event.”

And the Simon’s favourite game?
“We’ve had a comp running on Chuckie Egg and that was always a favourite of mine. I had an Acorn Electron and a Spectrum and I preferred the Spectrum version. I’ve even got it on my android phone!

Whilst there, GamesYouLoved GamesYouLoved spent several hours getting involved in the extensive collection of computing systems. Limited run or unsuccessful systems are a part of the evolution of the home entertainment system and GamesYouLoved always find these more interesting because they often still had a part to play in the scene as a whole. We all may remember the likes of Atari’s Jaguar or Panasonic’s 3DO - but perhaps less the French cassette based systems: Matra Alice 90 (a Tandy TRS-80 clone) or an Exelvision Exl 100, or Micronique Hector 2HR, or Philips VG5000.

Moving around the event GamesYouLoved asked the owner of these (and many more gems), Steve Perry, about his collection:

“I've brought a variety of systems along. I just think it’s important that people see them and get chance to use them. A lot of collectors keep their stuff hidden away, stored in boxes, never sharing them and I don’t really agree with that. It’s important for the scene as a whole, and I know you’ve got emulators but it can never replace the look and feel of interacting with the real thing. I’ll always prefer to play on the real thing. I suppose it’s like watching something important on television. It’s always gonna be better to watch it live than a recording.

I’ve probably got about 130 systems at the moment give or take a few non-working ones. Ive got 3 full size arcade cabinets in the living room…”

GamesYouLoved then asked Steve Perry where it all started for him?

“I guess it all started at a RetroVision event, one of the first retro gaming events. It was all quite Llamasoft based with Jeff Minter, and as a homage to his games a group of people from the YakYak forum, started this event called RetroVision and over the years it got more and more generic incorporating different games, different consoles and systems. I went to one in Oxford, took along a Playstation 2, just the one system. The next event I took a few more systems along, and then more after that and it’s just grown, and kind of got out of control.”

Back to the event...
The event was also a great way of promoting the hard work of 2 museums, who are currently playing a big part in Britain’s growing retro games scene. Centre for Computing History, and Retro Computer Museum both have extensive collections of computing and gaming systems from years gone by. Centre for Computing History is a registered charity and has only recently found a home in Haverhill near Cambridge. Their aim is to not only celebrate the impact computing has made on the way we communicate and absorb information, but to generate interest in computing and programming in the younger generations. This made them a perfect exhibitor for the event, as not only did they bring along an array of classic hardware, but they could inform and engage visitors with relevant knowledge and information.

Retro Computer Museum or RCM were also integral to the event supplying an extensive selection of home computing and gaming systems, all set-up and ‘ready to go’ allowing visitors to lose themselves completely in retro gaming if they so wished. Andy Spencer was good enough to give us a walk around and background on all the machines they’d brought from their base in Leicester. His passion and enthusiasm was infectious reminding GamesYouLoved of what gaming of old is really about. Similar to the Centre for Computing History  RCM are also a charity relying on donations and the hard work of volunteers to sustain itself.

GamesYouLoved  also spoke to  Dylan Smith, who had devised an Ethernet networking system for the Sinclair Spectrum, allowing for LAN multiplayer gaming. The theme of the event was becoming more prevalent the more involved GamesYouLoved  got. Old meets new. Sure, it’s important not to forget where computing’s come from also applying a fresh approach, simple and exciting things can occur.

GamesYouLoved also spoke to Chris Smith, writer of the book ‘The ZX Spectrum ULA: How to design a microcomputer’

He went on to say

“There’s still a barrier, especially with the younger generation, using this equipment. So what I decided to do, by way of investigating the ULA- the custom chip in the spectrum, I managed to build my own spectrum, using basic principles using common parts you can find in places like Maplin.
This celebrates how the spectrum chip works, because there’s not really any documentation for that. I then documented this into a book, documenting the whole design. This examines not just the ULA, but looks at how an 8bit computer was designed in the 80’s using the spectrum as the case-study.”

I asked whether he thought gaming had a part to play in all this. Surely gaming helped get the most out of the hardware and push things?

“In gaming, especially when you’ve got such limited resources, whether the ZX spectrum or any 8-bit machine from that era, producing games which had playability and were better than the last was key. It was all about improving and producing things that were better so things didn’t stagnate, you had to innovate.”

Chris himself used to work for the developer MicroGen and would keep an eye on the gaming scene because of its importance to the Spectrum scene;
“I used to subscribe to Crash magazine. Bearing in mind that at the time there was no internet and no ‘in your face reporting’,  I would buy the magazines to keep up with what people were doing in advancements in games. .”

And when GamesYouLoved asked about his favourite gaming memories:

“I used to play some games on the spectrum but it was more to gauge what programmers were doing. I s’pose I was more of a watcher than a player. If I was pushed though, my favourite game would be either Sabre Wulf or Nightlore. I played Sabre Wulf and awful lot. Scuba Dive (Durrell)? I loved that game. And Stop The Express.”

Since the event, The Centre for Computing History has opened its doors and Simon has confirmed there will be another Silicon Dreams event. Simon is currently looking for sponsors for the 2014 event and is providing up to date news about the progress of things via the website: 

http://www.silicondreams.org.uk/ and their Twitter page: twitter.com/SiliconDreamsGB

Thank you to everyone who help organise and contributed to the Silicon Dreams event from the GamesYouLoved Team

Find The Centre for Computing History and Retro Computer Museum on our friends page:
http://www.gamesyouloved.com/friends/

Looking at the Mad Max game with a different name - By Michael Westgarth

Beyond Nitendome

One glance at Outlander and the Mad Max inspiration is obvious.

The car, the endless stretch of road, the orange and brown colour scheme of the oh so familiar Australian post-apocalyptic wasteland. Our nameless hero is even rocking the leather jacket, jeans and sunglasses combo. It's more than likely that Outlander was a failed attempt by developer and publisher Mindscape to renew the Mad Max license following their official Mad Max NES game, but that's not important. What is important is that Outlander mixes two very common gameplay types and throws in a survival twist, resulting in a unique and challenging game often overlooked by even the greatest Super Nintendo enthusiasts.

As children growing up with the Sega Mega Drive, my younger brother and I would look forward to visits from our uncle who would reveal to us what we considered at the time to be truly exotic games on his SNES. Even though the likes of Super Mario World and Star Wing wowed us, there was something oddly attractive about Outlander. Funnily enough, I specifically remember asking my uncle what the game was about, only to get a reply along the lines of, “It's like Mad Max.”. Our blank faces, however, required a more detailed description.

Initially, Outlander looks like nothing more than a racing game. In fact, the game starts with no introduction, no story and no instructions – Just your car, the road, and the orange mountains on the horizon. Drive a small distance however and you'll soon be attacked by motorcycling bandits. That's right, it's boomstick time. Your car is equipped with a front mounted machine gun used for taking out oncoming bandits, however, when motorcyclists drive along side you a small screen will appear showing you a side-on view of the bandit in question, allowing you to line up and fire a shot from your shotgun. The assault continues as you wind around corners, dodging road blocks and trying to block off bandits chasing you from behind using your rear view mirror. It won't be long though until you run out of fuel, health or ammo, at which point you can park along side the road in order to scavenge for supplies on foot.

The ability to park the car at any time and start a 2D side-scrolling section amazed me as a child at a time where the games I was playing had clearly defined stages consisting of one type of gameplay. This didn't make Outlander any easier though. Each stretch of road is interspersed with towns in which food, ammo, armour, nitro and other bits and bobs can be found in relative abundance – just so long as you can take out the town's aggressive inhabitants with your shotgun, or failing that, your fist. Completing a town acts as the end of a stage, totting up your score and giving you a password. Stopping your car before a town will result in you walking along side the road itself, battling motorcyclists and dodging land mines – all for a fraction of the items found in a town.

Outlander is a game about survival, a fact that made it impossible for my younger brother and I to get very far when playing it. The game would always give you just a little less ammo than you really needed and just a little a less fuel than it took to get you to the next town. In addition to this, running over one too many road blocks or crashing into a bolder would quickly send you to the 'Game Over' screen. We'd often ask our uncle to play it so we could watch the game in action, begging him to run over sheep at the expense of his health, because running over sheep in Outlander was very funny.

Returning to the game in my adult years has opened my eyes to the addictive balance of 3rd person driving, 2D side scrolling and survival elements Outlander offers. Throw in a few cool and catchy tunes and some decent use of the SNES's ability to scale and you have yourself a rough diamond of a game that can be found for next-to-nothing prices. It's by no means a masterpiece – my nostalgic memories of the game helping to patch over some of its shortcomings – but this Mad Max wannabe is certainly worth checking out.

Thanks to Michael Westgarth for his review.

Michael Westgarth is a videogames writer and journalist whose works include articles for Sega Addicts and Geek Insider.

Links to his work:

http://megawestgarth.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

Skeeball Should Be in the Olympics!

Skeeball is one of the most recognizable games of the past 100 years.  
By Gametimeplayers.com

The objective is simple enough, even for the youngest of gamers to understand, yet the skills necessary to compete at the highest level, or obtain the arcade’s high score for that matter, requires an immense amount of practice and precision.

Unlike Skeeball’s second-cousin-once-removed, bowling, simply hurling the ball down the lane in a semi-straight line will not result in a respectable score. To truly master the art of Skeeball, rolling the ball down the center of the lane won’t give you the points necessary to obtain legendary status. Only painting the corners, where the big points reside, will tally up your score properly. Beyond simply aiming, there’s a depth-perception component to the game of Skeeball that bowling cannot compete with. Skeeball is the ultimate combination of bowling and a game of H.O.R.S.E. Let’s be honest, not all Olympic sports require an incredible amount of athletic ability. Of course the majority do. But then there’s archery; an impressive skill that entails an incredible amount of practice and training. Not necessarily athletic ability though.

To claim Skeeball should automatically be eliminated from the Olympics because of the lack of athletic ability necessary makes the argument invalid. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) holds a vote after each Olympic year to decide which sports will be included at the following Olympics. According to Rule 48 of the Olympic Charter, a maximum of 28 sports can be included. Think back to the games you’ve seen televised: curling, sailing, and archery, to name a few. Adding a sport to the Olympic roster is based on its world-wide popularity. Of the people reading this article, were any of you on your school’s curling team? That’s not to say all the sports mentioned aren’t great fun, impressive to watch and entertaining.

One could argue however, based on popularity alone, Skeeball is one of the most recognizable sports of last century. Simply put, the guidelines placed upon which sports will be included in the Olympics are loose at best.  Playing arcade games, of any kind, requires a certain level of skill; hand-eye coordination being amongst the most obvious. Timing, dexterity, concentration, speed, anticipation, accuracy and multitasking are all sport-related (and real-world) skills the best gamers master. Skeeball, we can argue, requires the greatest combination of prowess. Understanding velocity, inertia, rotational physics, and the lane’s terrain are all crucial to becoming a Skeeball expert. Skeeball is like taking a free throw by rolling it down a bowling lane and off a ramp – 9 times in a row. Turn on ESPN 2 on a Tuesday at 3 in the morning, and you’ll find all sorts of interesting “sports;” Darts, billiards, poker, spelling bees, fishing. Is Skeeball really that different than any of these? 

And even if we can’t agree on adding Skeeball to the Olympics in 2014, the discussion should at least be opened to including video gaming of some sort, in the future. 100 years ago, saying snowboarding should be in the Olympics would have either raised eyebrows, or led to being asked, “what’s snowboarding?” If curling is in the Olympics, and poker is on ESPN, then the least we can do is let the conversation begin.

For more information go to:

http://gametimeplayers.com

https://www.facebook.com/gtplayers

https://twitter.com/gtplayers

RETRO-GAMING TEE’S FOR THE RETRO GAMER! - RETRO GT T-SHIRTS

We were lucky enough to be sent not one, but two of RetroGT’s awesome T-Shirts for a review (and your reading pleasure) and instantly fell in love with them. Great designs printed onto high quality fabric of course!

When you want to be different and original you have gotta think about details, and packaging is for sure one of those details. This packaging is great, with shirts being packed nicely in plastic bags. We loved the 2-colour RetroGT stickers within the bag, and we will defiantly be finding somewhere to stick them!

With the T-Shirts so brilliantly packaged we were eager to try them on and see how they feel, especially when we felt the quality and how soft they are.

Bearing in mind all of the stuff stated above, RetroGT are well up there when it comes to T-Shirt producing. Fine quality garments with big, bold and often retro gaming orientated designs, all wrapped up and at more than affordable prices.

These T-shirts are great for retro and gaming fans alike! With more T-Shirts and designs available on www.retrogt.com you are spoilt for choice!



Do you like these T-Shirts?

We would love to know what you think about this review, so don’t hesitate to contact us via Twitter or Facebook or at info@gamesyouloved.com

Operation Wolf - a true story - By Andy Pryer

In 1987 I was ten years old and already a seasoned gamer. Not only had I cut my teeth on the rubbery 48k spectrum, but I’d also upgraded to the breathtakingly powerful 128k +2 model too. Several of my friends who put brain before heart had C64s (controversial!) and if I didn't already have my Amiga, I’d have already earned my wings on my friend’s machine by now.

One summer, we holidayed in Dawlish and took an apartment directly opposite a large Amusement Arcade. Each morning I was awakened by an an electronic Speak & Spell type voice loudly and repeatedly exclaiming ‘PLACE YOUR BETS NOW PLEASE!’ followed a simple monotone ditty attempting to attract punters to a mechanical horse racing game. The sound is deeply engrained on my brain as the background ambiance of pure and carefree pleasure.

Whatever we got up to during the day, we’d invariably gravitate to the arcade in the evening as there was little else on offer. As I patrolled the arcade interior, waiting for my mother to deplete her generous supply of 2p pieces on the ‘tuppenny waterfall’, I regarded the rows Jamma cabinets with an unimpressed air. ‘Joystick and buttons? Do me a favour, I have that in my bedroom!’ I wasn’t about to be suckered into parting with my hard earned coin playing a game I could play at home, regardless of the marginally better graphics. A veteran like me had seen it all before. (What I wouldn’t give for an evening in that arcade and a wheelbarrow of 10p pieces now though.)

‘But wait a second... now there’s something I don’t have at home’... Introducing Operation Wolf: the game you play with a goddamn GUN! Not a wussy bright pink, plasticy approximation of a gun, but a black, chunky, gratifying, throbbing, death-dealing Uzi. I’d seen that gun on TV! It’s a real gun!

The attract mode was an enormous tease: Commando with Arnie had came out a couple of years before and the scene of him preparing for battle was - I’ll be kind and say ‘homaged’ here with some nicely detailed graphics and oh-so serious music. Unlike many of the games around at the time, this one had a particularly sober and mature feel, which, when combined with the deep bass generated by the cabinet, gave it real gravitas and demanded attention.

Unlike the namby-pamby kids of today, boys of the 80’s were encouraged to play with toy guns, fight in the dirt and watch programs in which large men were routinely punched square in their faces. The chance to dish out some hot-lead was the realisation of all my childhood playground games. I just couldn’t get my cash into the machine fast enough.

The machine acknowledged the drop of the currency with a satisfying chime and as I caressed the weapon, finger itching on the trigger, I eagerly awaited some targets.

The cut-scenes were blessedly short, giving only the briefest exposition: We’re here to rescue some hostages. Who cares? Bring on the badies.

First play and the gun was so gratifying to use I became drunk with power and exhibiting a thousand yard stare, I hose down everything in sight with white hot lead, unleashing mayhem on those poor schmucks who never know what hit ‘em. I expend all my ammo too quickly and I’m captured - doomed to a short life covered in lice and starving. I was even treated to an glimpse of my future self; pale, gaunt and weakened by dysentery. The shame! I should have saved at least one bullet!

Having purged from my system the urge to loose off all my rounds as quickly as possible, I have another attempt. This time, marksmanship is the order of the day and it pays off in spades. Not only is it more satisfying to place individual shots with surgical precision, making one feel like a true professional and the right man for this job, but on the occasions when the enemy squadies obligingly line up, it’s immensely gratifying to mow them down with a short, controlled burst. The heft of the gun and the impact of the bullets is palpable and for the moments you’re contained within the game you’re convinced that your wielding real power. Windows shatter, bushes twitch as the rounds tear through their delicate leaves and missed shot kick up clods of dirt - even cockerels aren't safe from your wrath, as blasting their indestructible bodies yields essential supplies. And for those pesky helicopters and trucks which are a drain on resources to deal with conventionally, there's the handy grenade launcher which makes short work of them as long as you use the grenades sparingly. To cap it all, the action is punctuated by little incidental sound cues, a nice touch which really helps to give it the action movie feel.

Some care is required to protect the non-combatants who stray into the line of fire. There’s a skinny chav who runs unpredictably through the mayhem panic strickenly screaming, a pair of stretcher bearing nurses who I assume must be twins with some vital mental link since if you shoot one they both die with a dismayed ‘NO!’. In the later stages there are the hostages to avoid, snuff them and even if you do make it home Mr Prez won’t be throwing you any parties, the hundreds of enemies of the state dead by your hand will count for nothing if you come home alone.

It wasn’t long before I’d burned through my meager supply of 10p pieces and my eyes had become dry from not blinking. As I reluctantly turned away from the machine, I found I’d drawn a small crowd of spectators, mostly bored middle aged men, none of whom had the cojones to step up for some trigger-time for fear of looking foolish. I must admit to being rather pleased with my performance.

That evening back at the apartment, I must have been very tiresome indeed. I was so excited by my discovery that I insisted to recounting my adventure in every detail, listing the various nuances, features and enemy types in the game. It must have been very tedious for my parents, but at least they knew how to keep me occupied in the evenings now, I couldn’t wait to get back to the Arcade. Over the following week, I honed my skill further and became pretty accomplished, although the cash always gave out before I could get to the end.

Once I got home again and the balmy summer evenings of the holiday gave way to more mundane routine all I had were the various home system ports. The game was available for all the home platforms, but I only really had access to two, neither of which impressed me greatly. Without the gun there was just something missing.

The spectrum version was just an insult to the greatness of it’s arcade heritage. For one thing it took ages to load - even for a spectrum game. I seem to remember timing at it a patience-testing 15 mins! How can it possibly take that long to load 128k? The payoff for the loading ordeal left much to be desired. Gone were the vivid colours of the arcade which were replaced by monochrome graphics. There was also a complete lack of animation of the sprites an the constant and annoying beeps and chimes masquerading as sound effects were pretty annoying. I don’t think it was even light gun compatible, at least my gun didn't work with it.

The Amiga version faired little better despite the graphics, which were as faithful as they could have been. The music could have been handled much better and is a little too cheery in places, although some of the arcade original’s samples made it. As for the game itself however there are more enemies to     shoot at, which doesn’t sound bad like a bad thing, but it just means you simply hold the fire button and move the mouse around, which detracts enormously from the sensation of being a professional picking his shots. It also causes a constant cacophony of noise. Gone are the subtleties of the sound design present in the arcade version. The mouse control method is an improvement of the keyboard but can’t make up of the lack of a gun. Completing this game is a simple test of endurance rather than skill, a challenge which can be made easier simply by turning the volume down.

Andy Pryer in full Operation Wolf mode!

Another great Blog story by Andy Pryer

READ the GamesYouLoved Review of Operation Wolf - the Arcade.
Click here www.gamesyouloved.com/game-genre/video-arcade/arcade/operation-wolf/

outdoor gaming! By Coen Velden

About outdoor gaming with the console: 

The weather here in Germany isn't much better than in the UK, so there aren't many opportunities for outside gaming.

As a matter of fact, at the moment of typing this, we're having some heavy rain.

We did a few multiplayer PS1 sessions on the balcony, must have been in the late nineties. Back then, we connected two Playstations via link-cable, and had some great sessions with: Duke Nukem Doom/Final Doom Command & Conquer - Red Alert I have been a gamer since the late seventies, but there aren't many people with whom I can exchange thoughts about that hobby, somehow there's still this "Gaming is for kids" thing among most of my friends.

With my nephew (Philip), somehow, who is a gamer like me, we hardly ever have another theme when we meet.

Doesn't matter what we start to talk about, each and every time, some gaming theme is always involved. Be it some auctions at eBay, memories of 8/16/32 bit stuff, tamagotchi, PC games, etc...etc... When I proposed him to play outside like in the "good old days", he was in for it immediately.

Sadly enough, we didn't have time for that last weekend, so it had to be in the middle of the week. Last weekend, it was too hot anyway, last night was just the right temperature, not too hot, not too cold.

Good thing is, we still have some old tube television screens at my house, which (in my opinion) is still the best thing to play on with old consoles.

First thing I did, was carrying the biggest TV outside, and placed it on the garden table.

Took an extension cable for the electricity, and made some drinks with ice.

Next decision:

Which console are we going to use?

SNES

N64

ATARI 2600

Playstation

Gamecube (Is that retro enough?.... naah, not yet).

We decided to take my psx, which has a mod-chip inside.

I sold my own playstation in 2002/2003, don't ask me why.

Bought a new one a few weeks ago, and the chip was built in already, so you don't hear me complain.

Since Germany is behaving very strange about violence in video games, that chip is a good thing to me.

Many, many games have a different version, specifically made for the german market.

Some games have green blood, instead of red.

Some games have different cut-scenes.

there are games that aren't even available here, like Perfect Dark and Conker's bad fur day for the N64.

(Good thing is, Holland is not far from here, they don't have these problems over there.)

Command & Conquer, for instance doesn't have human enemies, like in the rest of the world.

They changed them into robots/androids, so you are not fighting against human beings.

In Resident Evil, when shooting a zombie, they are not bleeding red, but "sweating" something like grey blood.

Then, they are not lying on the floor, but start to blink, and disappear suddenly.

Can you imagine?

Same thing with Mortal Kombat (SNES), the characters are not bleeding but sweating.

Grmbl.....I could fill a book with this theme.

Anyway, with that chip inside, I can play us/uk/jp games also.

Next thing was, which games are we going to play?

I don't own Duke Nukem and DooM anymore, and we only had one console. 

I still wanted to have some multiplayer action, so we had some beat'em ups to choose from:

Kensei - Sacred Fist

Psychic Force

Tekken 3

Bloody Roar II

Soul Blade

Since my opponent alway used to win at Soul Calibur (Dreamcast), he really wanted to kick my butt at Soul Blade.

His favorite character was, and still is, and probably ever will be:

First we enjoyed the whole cheesy rendered intro, with one of the most remarkable videogame songs of that time.

Some kind of Japanese Pop/Rock, I always liked that song, even have it on cd, to listen to while driving.

He took Siegfried (who else), I took Mitsurugi, because I thought he was the one with the Nunchakus.

How wrong I was, Mitsurugi's weapon is a katana, I didn't have any control, didn't know what to do at all, I couldn't stand a chance.

After a few battles, I had to admit I am so f**king bad at this game, everything I heard was:

"SIEGFRIED WINS!!!"

I'm getting old.

Philip said, those graphics are kind of bad, but the gameplay is as good as the dreamcast game!

To compensate my bad experience, we wanted to give Bloody Roar II a go.

We both hadn't played this before. 

(some 200 games came with the console when I bought it, many of them we've never tried)

After reading many good reviews when BRII came out, we thought it should be a good game.

This time we skipped the intro.

VS mode chosen, characters chosen, let's play:

First of all, we had to lough out loud because of the 

character-presenting voice:

"Uriko.....Half Beast!"

"Busizima....Chameleon!"

"Stun....the Insect!"

"Shina....Leopard!"

Hilarious.

We did a few fights, but the gameplay didn' impress.

We could see it's a good game.... for fans of the genre, but not really our cup of tea.

Win/lose ratio: 50/50.

Next game:

Tony Hawk's pro skater 2

I still have a savegame from the nineties on a memory card, so we loaded that first.

This wasn't easy, as you can imagine from the picture.

Finding the right mem-card with the right savegame can take a little time.

(Side note: I really miss the memory card menue from my old playstation, I had one from the first series.

The menue on this newer ps1 has a poppy, colorful menue, which I don't like at all.

Well, at least this one doesn't overheat the laser-drive).

OK, chosing the caracters, first round was a skate for fun session.

No time limits, no scoring, just some two-player skating fun, for testing purpose only.

Philip asked me what to do, which controls did what?

I answered:

It's like the fighting games, but instead of kicking & punching, you have to do some grinding & performing tricks.

Needless to say, I beat him at this game.

At one point, he had something like 49.000 points, while I had

some whopping 420.000.

THAT compensated my defeat at Soul Blade!

It was getting dark now, and we were running out of drinks, so I went inside to make some drinks and get some ice.

Before that, I started the game One Piece Mansion.

"Here, you have to try this at least once!"

With a big grin on my face, I went inside, left him not knowing what to expect.

At first, he protested, he was thinking it had something to do with the japanese anime series, also called One Piece.

My comment:

"Don't worry, just shut up and play!"

When I came back, he asked:

"WTF is this?

What am I supposed to do?

What kind of people do come up with such strange ideas for a game?"

At that point, I knew I've done the right thing.

For those unaware of this game, you have to manage a house, seen from the side.

It's open, and you can see the appartments.

In each room, there's a person, or family.

Somehow, an evil alien has captured your sister, and to get her back, you have to build more rooms for your house, and keep the tenants satisfied.

When they're too stressed (Because their neighbours are behaving strange, or getting to loud), that appartment will explode, and all the rooms above will drop down one floor, Tetris-style.

Sounds strange?

It is!

We would have played this nice puzzle game longer, but the problem with it is the music.... that music!!!

Some kind of cheap Japano-Electronic-Techno-Videogame Tune is always playing in the background.

When Inhabitants are getting stressed, and shortly before appartments are going to explode, the tune speeds up, and gets louder.

There isn't an option in the menue to turn the music volume down, onle a Mono/Stereo option!

So, before my (real-life) neighbours were coming at my door, we just had to quit.

After this weird gaming experience, we had a little break.

We put the skullmonkey cd in, and just watched the intro.

We didn't play the game, just sat back and relaxed, which was very welcome, after the totally stressed half hour before.

Skullmonkeys is a jump & run, and a very frustratingly difficult one, but the claymation is so great!

And the music too, by the way.

Time for some drinks....again.

Inserted the Star Trek Invasion CD, since Philip is a big Trekkie.

When I came back, he was playing the first training level.

He had his problems controlling the ship in space, though.

In that training level, you have to manoeuvre yor ship through some turning circles, and there's a time limit too.

He was already halfway through when I returned, everything was looking good.

Then, somehow, he managed to miss one portal, and had to fly back.

With only four to go, the timer started to count down:

Ten...

Nine...

(3 to go)

Eight...

Seven...

Six...

Five....

(2 to go)

four...

three....

(Only 1 to go!)

two...

One....

.......Mission failed!!

How can such a simple thing be so exciting?

That was fun to see!

Next game on the list was Resident Evil 3 (US version)

It was almost midnight, perfect circumstances for a game like that.

Dark, outside, quiet, moon was shining, just perfect.

This time, it was my turn to play.

I had a go already a few days ago, so I loaded my savegame.

Had fought my way through the police station (The same as in RE2, which is a great thing, I think).

We discussed some of the differences between german & US versions, while I was solving puzzles, collecting items, and shooting zombies.

At some point, the game scared the hell out of me!

There wasn't a monster or zombie in sight, and I just opened a garage door successfully.

Then I had to walk the stairs, to get onto the next floor.

There were some steps burning, and I was walking in between them, when all of a sudden, a window was shattered into pieces, right beside of me!

I was expecting some kind of brain-sucking monster to jump onto my face, nothing happened.

So I was continuing my way up, when some BIG flames came out of that broken window.

More frightening than all of the zombies I've encountered before!

This part reminded us of the part in Resident Evil 2, where you fell through the wooden floor in the library.

No zombie at all, but shocking as hell!

Survived everything, and after saving the game, we went on to the next part:

Music 2000!

This nifty little programme isn't really a game, but a music-editor.

And a great one it is!

We used to spend hours and hours with it, creating some fine electro-beats.

Back in the days, we even managed to convert our favourite song via Mini-Disc (Does anyone remember that?) onto the PC, then into MP3, so we could listen to it anytime we wanted.

I was always a little disappointed about the rock parts in it, as there weren't many.

Most of the available samples, loops, and beats are electronic-ambient-techno stuff.

Had a lot of fun anyway.

So, on to the last game, as it was already one o'clock in the night, and it had to a multiplayer game.

Philip mentioned Destruction Derby, which I had to get upstairs.

We started the game, looking for a multiplayer option, and all we found was one player, and two player via link cable.

Much to our surprise, we could also start a two player championship.

(After that, it came into my mind that it had been Destruction Derby 2, which had given us so many good moments.)

Expecting some splitscreen racing mayhem, we were both a little disappointed to see we had to wait until the first player finished each race, so alternate racing was the thing to be.

Never mind, we had some great time, but what the hell did they do with the steering controls?

Was this really THAT bad in the starting days of the PS1?

We had a real hard time keeping those opponents of our backs, we were so bad.

We both managed to finish a race at first place only ONE time each!

Some races seemed to work out really good, battling for first/second/third positions, when suddenly some stupid cpu driver came from behind, and turned the car into the crossroads.

After all was done, I was thinking I had a good chance to have more points than my human opponent....

Then came the final result:

Both of us almost at the bottom of the list, except for two opponents!

Philip - 226 points

Coen - 224 points

So, I lost again!

Never mind, we both had a great gaming night, and we're looking forward to the next one!

(Maybe with barbeque and mini-inflatable pool!!)

Blog by Coen Velden

Music from Music 2000 click here